After a brief struggle, we managed to siphon a canister of gas from the fuel reservoir. It was not without its trouble though, so we filled the car and then an extra jerry can for good measure while we were at it.
“Don’t get it in your mouth,” Viola warned, watching me anxiously as I hunched down and sucked the end of the tube to get the gas flowing. I rolled my eyes at her, pulling away just in time. The liquid splattered onto the floor before Viola pushed the canister underneath the hose. I sat up on my haunches and glanced around, making sure we were still alone. We’d both been suitably spooked by how easily we’d been distracted earlier – though I think bleeding to death is a rather justifiable cause – and how close the girls had come to being harmed. Neither of us were keen to repeat that incident.
“Still clear?” Viola asked, joining me in scanning our surroundings.
“For now,” I answered, reaching over and giving her hand a quick squeeze. “We’ll move as soon as we can.”
Viola cast her eyes downward, her voice soft, “Where are we going?”
I looked over at her, the confusion evident on my face, “I thought we were going to California?”
“That was a stupid suggestion,” she answered, miserably, flailing her arms in frustration. “What are we going to do when we get there? What are we even doing going there?”
I blinked at her a few times, still not completely understanding her outburst, “You wanted to go, remember?”
“That doesn’t mean anything, Mar!” Viola’s gestures were getting more and more frantic by the second. "I'm hardly the best decision maker."
“We don’t have a better plan,” I retorted. “It’s not like anyone’s out here handing out maps or instructions.”
Viola yanked the hose from the reservoir and forcefully screwed the cap onto the canister, huffing and puffing as she did so.
“Vi, will you please chill out? We’ll just keep going until we hear what to do on the radio or something, okay? I don’t know what else to do,” I admitted, shrugging my shoulders. She sighed and nodded reluctantly. There was a moment of silence as we let the gravity of our circumstances creep up on us. Viola thankfully broke it.
“How’s your arm?” she asked, her eyes travelling over the bandage.
“I think it’s slowing down. I feel like shit though,” I replied, smiling weakly.
“I bet,” she gave me a sympathetic smile as we got to our feet, ready to leave Texas behind.

“Mommy?” Esther’s tiny voice drifted from the back of the car. Viola looked back briefly from the wheel, trying to give her youngest a comforting look. It wasn’t her best effort; her face had been contorted with concentration and fear for the entire drive so far and there was really no relaxing at this point. The four of us had sat in a tense silence for the last three hours, the girls obviously picking up on our uneasiness as we mulled over the events that had taken place at the gas station.
Esther tried again, this time targeting me, “Auntie Mazzie?”
I looked back, giving her a half smile, “Everything ok, Esther?”
“I don’t feel good,” she moaned, looking up at me. She did look kind of pale, poor thing. I’m not surprised she felt crappy after what she’d seen today.
“Do you need us to stop?” I asked gently, and she nodded. I turned back to the front and looked out the windshield. “Where are we?”
“Near Pine Springs. Remember this place? We camped up here years ago?” Viola asked, smiling faintly at the memory.
“Yeah,” I nodded, “Hallie was 5, and you were pregnant. That was the time that Brendan found that snake and you freaked.”
“That snake was terrifying,” Viola argued, turning off towards the parking.
“It was cute actually,” I corrected, with a smirk. “It was harmless!”
“It was a snake,” Viola replied curtly, “all snakes are terrifying. Especially when they’re being waved around by Brendan.”
“That man was a damn snake whisperer, I swear,” I laughed, remembering his antics. Brendan had always been fearless when it came to animals, particularly insects, and was forever showing his girls any creepy crawlies he had discovered. The kids loved it, but Vi? Not so much.
“Well, you brought that guy with the stick up his ass along, remember him?” Vi giggled, as I grimaced.
“Hmm, I seem to remember we agreed to never speak about Tom ever again,” I countered pointedly, as I squinted over at her. She ignored me and began harping on teasingly about one of the more embarrassing of my failed relationships as she approached the visitor’s center.

We pulled over in the deserted parking lot. The place looked completely abandoned, but we'd quickly learnt that that wasn't necessarily the case. Viola turned back to the girls and put a hand against Esther’s forehead.
“God, you are warm,” she remarked, chewing her lip nervously. She looked to me. “What do we do?”
I took in the pallor of Esther’s face and her dark ringlets pasted to her forehead with sweat and pursed my lips.
“You want me to check this place out? It’s not like we’re on a schedule. We could stop for the night?” I suggested, not wanting Esther to travel in her condition. Viola gave me the go ahead, so I quickly checked our surroundings and then stepped out of the car to stake out the visitor's center.
The building was open which made life easier, but there was no one around. Predictably, the power was out and the windows were pretty small. The resulting darkness would offer some protection though, so that wasn’t such a bad thing. There weren’t really any facilities in the building, just a front desk and nature exhibits, but it was a shelter and a secluded one at that. We would make do, just for tonight.

“HB, gentlemen!” Johnny called out gleefully from the front of the van. A resounding cheer echoed amongst the boys. I looked questioningly at Jimmy who had perked up at Johnny's announcement.
“Huntington Beach,” he grinned, “Home sweet home.”
“Home? Don’t you move about?” I asked, furrowing my brow.
Jimmy cocked his head to one side, “Only when we need more supplies.”
“How long have you been here?” I questioned, wanting to know more.
“Forever,” he answered, his gaze even more quizzical than it had been before. “Why is that weird?”
“So, what were you doing when you found us?”
“Looking for supplies,” he jokingly enunciating each word very slowly as if I was stupid, his eyes twinkling. “You got a brain in there?”
I rolled my eyes at his quip and pressed on, “But you were so far out… we’ve been driving for what, four hours?”
“Well, some things are sparse on the ground - especially meds. We go the distance for that stuff,” he shrugged.
“Are you growing your own food or something, then?” I quizzed, trying to figure out what was keeping them here.
“No... we scavenge that too,” he answered, his head tilted again. I took in his words quietly. This didn’t really seem like a sustainable situation, but apparently none of them had thought that through. It was a situation that Hallie and I were now stuck in as well for having followed them. I wasn’t sure why I’d travelled all the way here, especially now Washington wasn’t our aim anymore. I guess I was just drifting at this point. I had nothing to aim for, no plan and no inkling of what I should be doing. At the moment, I was living for Viola’s dream, but once we’d seen California (a checkbox that we were oh-so-close to ticking off), what were we supposed to do next?

The van had rounded a sharp corner and was now slowing.
“How’s it looking out there?” Zach called to the front.
“Fucking quiet as shit. No slaying this afternoon, boys,” Johnny complained, clearly disappointed. I had firmly decided at this point that he was my least favourite of this group. Trigger-happy, mouthy and a lack of empathy – what a bellend. The van jolted to a stop. Matt dug into his pocket and wiggled out a coin. Zach and Jimmy leaned in enthusiastically.
“Heads,” called Zach, as Matt flicked the coin up into the air. He let it spin a few times before smacking it down onto the back of his hand.
“Ha! Sucker,” Jimmy taunted Zach, as Matt revealed tails.
“Fuck's sake, it’s always me,” Zach grumbled, flipping Jimmy off as he shuffled to the back door of the van.
“Have a nice time, loser,” Jimmy jeered playfully, leaning back as he kicked his feet up onto the seat opposite and put his hands behind his head. Hallie let out a small giggle as he purposefully nudged her with his foot and winked.
“All clear ahead,” Brian called back, eliciting another grumble from Zach who was braced against the door.
“Go on then, you pussy, what are you waiting for?” Jimmy snickered from his laid back position. Zach narrowed his eyes at Jimmy before brandishing his rifle and busting the van door open. He hopped out, quick as a flash, slamming the door behind him.
“We flip a coin to decide who goes out first. Loser flips next time,” Matt explained, having watched me eye the scene with perplexity. “Never gets any easier to do, especially when Jimmy’s talking shit.”
“Hey, it’s a game of skill,” Jimmy retorted, stretching his long legs out even further. “I can’t help that I’m good at it and Zach's not. It takes practice, you know.”
We were saved from Jimmy’s nonsensical logic by the van door reopening.
“Good to go,” Zach grinned in, opening the two doors wide. Jimmy jumped up first - that guy pings like an elastic band, I swear - followed closely by Matt. I looked at Hallie who was watching me for a signal.
I shrugged, “Follow them, I guess.”
“Are you sure, Auntie Maz?” she asked, her brown eyes wide.
“Don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts now,” I quipped, nudging her towards the exit and then following her.

I squinted my eyes against the setting sun. The back of the van had been windowless and dingy, and the stinging contrast took me by surprise. I blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust before taking in the scenery. Huntington Beach sure was quaint, even at this moment in time. Except, that was, for what was right in front of us. We were standing before a pair of makeshift gates, made of wooden planks nailed together haphazardly and topped with barbed wire. The perimeter wall had been built up high with, presumably, whatever had been to hand at the time – wooden pallets, tyres, barbed wire and corrugated metal sheets among other things, stood tall. It was hideous in comparison to the rest of the street, but no one ever said that safe and pretty went hand in hand. Besides, if you turned the other way you had a beautiful ocean view, so it had that going for it, I guess. Matt unlocked the gates and, with the help of Johnny, pushed them open for Brian to drive the van in. Behind the gates was a fucking mansion. Well, maybe not officially a mansion by textbook definition, but it was huge in comparison to my tiny house back in Texas. I looked over to Hallie, who had a similar expression to my own, all agape.
“Welcome to Chez Brian,” Jimmy grinned with a wink, as we followed the van into the gates. Once the compound was gated and locked again, the boys began lazily dispersing into different areas. Matt and Zach set to unloading the group’s gatherings from the van, whilst Jimmy followed Johnny towards the house, arms above his head as he loomed over him and cackled.
Brian appeared at our side, having parked the van, and lit a cigarette – again, how does anyone keep that habit up anymore?
“I guess I’ll show you around,” he smiled, gesturing for us to follow him. I grabbed Hallie’s hand and we trailed behind him, both feeling a little daunted at the prospect of settling here, even just in the short term. We’d been accepted into the fold so easily – I had a sneaking suspicion that was to do with Hallie rather than my pleasant self – but I was still on edge about our newfound friendship. As we made it to the door, I turned back and looked at the ocean again. The setting sun was painting pastel hues of pink and purple into the waves as they rolled onto the golden sand.
She would have loved this.

Notes

:(


P.S. Looks like the end of the road for Jorina. I think Zacharina is out of the running too, but who knows? They could make a come back.